New Brexit rules could scupper Arsenal’s hopes of signing highly rated defender Valentin Antov from CSKA Sofia during the January transfer window, as reported by Bulgarian publication Fakti Akmu.
For Premier League clubs, snapping up exciting, fresh-faced talent from mainland Europe has just got a whole lot harder.
Since 1 January, under-18s from an EU country can’t join a club in England’s top flight.
And Arsenal, a club famed for scouring the market for the next generation of superstars, may be hit harder than most.
Antov may have turned 20 in November but there’s another Brexit-shaped obstacle blocking his potentially career-changing move to the Emirates.
As Fakti points out, under-21s can only be given special dispensation to join a Premier League club as long as their national team sits within the top 50 of FIFA’s world rankings.
Bulgaria, however, are 68th – making a January switch to north London “impossible”.
Antov, a three-time Bulgaria international, is valued in excess of £4 million but it seems he’ll have to move elsewhere if he wants to prove himself in a major European league (Tema Sport).
A club in Holland, Belgium or Germany may be willing to take a punt, of course. For now, however, the door to England appears to have been slammed in Antov’s face.
Under current restrictions, Arsenal would have also been prohibited from signing the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Hector Bellerin, Nicklas Bendtner and Wojciech Szczesny.
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